DSM-IV Criteria Provide Consistent Diagnostic Results

The measures used to diagnose psychiatric disorders produce reliable diagnostic results across different clinicians, a new interrater study shows. The data indicate that the reliability of diagnoses have improved following criterion changes in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV.

Using the parent and child versions of the Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule for Children for DSM-IV (ADIS-C/P), researchers looked at diagnoses established for 153 children, ages seven to 16, during live administration of the ADIS-C/P, and compared them to diagnoses identified by a second rater after viewing a video recording of the interviews. Researchers also examined informant, age, and gender influences on reliability.

They found found that, when information from both parent and child interviews was used, the level of agreement between raters for principal diagnosis, as well as for common comorbid disorders, was good to excellent.

Find more about the study in the June 2007 issue of Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, at jaacap.org.